The invention relates generally to providing food services to passengers of an aircraft. More specifically, the invention relates to a multi-functional, dual galley system configured to provide both self-service and full-service food provisioning to passenger on-board the aircraft.
Airlines often offer in-flight food services to traveling passengers. Typically, these services are provided by an airline attendant delivering food items, i.e. meals, snacks, and/or beverages, to the passengers while the passengers remain in their seats. Generally, the attendant utilizes a food and beverage cart to transport the food items along passenger aisles. The attendant the hands the food items to each passenger as the attendant progresses along the aisle. The passenger aisles are located between the seats of the aircraft and are used for the passenger and attendants to move throughout the aircraft. In most cases, when the attendants are performing the food services duties, the food and beverage carts block the aisle, making it very cumbersome for passengers and other attendants to move about the aircraft. Thus, delivering the food item to the passengers at their seats is time consuming, cumbersome, labor intensive, limits mobility of the passengers during performance of the services, thereby generally relegates the passengers to their seats during flight.
Typically, an aircraft includes at least one galley used to store food items, prepare meals, store the snack and beverage carts, and stock the snack and beverage carts in preparation for delivery of the food items to the passengers. Galleys typically include a staging area, a plurality of food item storage compartments, and storage bins for the food and beverage carts. The staging area is usually an aisle or area located between two structures comprising the storage compartments and bins. These galleys are often located near a door of the aircraft through which the passengers board and disembark. Thus, as passengers board the aircraft they can see directly into the galley staging area. The galleys typically include a curtain to close off the staging area, but these curtains are often left open and are not generally a good obstruction to the view of passengers as they board the aircraft or move about the aircraft during flight. Additionally, the curtains do not provide a good sound barrier to noise from within the galley, and are not very aesthetically pleasant looking.
In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a galley system is provided. The galley system includes a first structure, a second structure. and a crew aisle between the first structure and the second structure. Additionally, the galley system includes a set of doors associated with the first structure and the second structure. The doors conceal the crew aisle from the view of boarding passengers when the doors are in a closed position.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for serving food items to passengers of an aircraft utilizing a multi-functional galley system. The method includes providing a first group of passengers self-service access to food items stored, secured and displayed in a self-service food structure included in the multi-functional galley system. The method additionally includes serving a second group of passengers food items utilizing serving carts that are parked in a serving cart and supply storage structure included in the multi-functional galley system when the serving carts are not in use.
In yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an aircraft multi-functional galley system is provided. The multi-functional galley system includes a passenger self-service food structure including a plurality of food display compartments extending through the self-service food structure. The food display compartments are used to store, secure and display food items that are accessible by passengers. Additionally, the aircraft galley system includes a serving cart and supply storage structure including a plurality of serving cart parking bins and a plurality of storage compartments. The serving cart parking bins are used to store and secure serving carts used by a crew member to serve food items to the passengers and the storage compartments are used to store and secure food items. Furthermore, the aircraft galley system includes a crew aisle between the passenger self-service food structure and the serving cart and supply storage structure.